Device for engaging slings or like members over lifting hooks



J. HUMBERT ETAL 3,339,767 DEVICE FOR ENGAGING SLINGS OR LIKE Sept. 5,1967 MEMBERS OVER LIFTING HOOKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1965INVENTORS J cal/Es HUMBEET R4 rmo/vo Psmeov BY ficwv/ MM ATTORNEYS p 5,1967 J. HUMBERT ETAL 3,

DEVICE FOR ENGAGING SLINGS OR LIKE MEMBERS OVER LIFTING HOOKS Filed July1, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS \Jk cqwe's HuMBE/e T F4 YMOND v PEL420 Y BY fi n/ fm ATTOR NEYS United States Patent 3,339,767 DEVICE FORENGAGING SLINGS 0R LIKE MEMBERS OVER LIFTIN G HOOKS Jacques Humbert,Manosque, and Raymond Pelardy, Perthuis, France, assignors toCommissariat a lEnergie Atomique, Paris, France Filed July 1, 1965, Ser.No. 468,679 Claims priority, application France, July 16, 1964, 981,786Claims. (Cl. 214-628) This invention relates to a device for hooking asling or like element which terminates in an eye or shackle, said devicebeing specifically designed for attachment to a hook which is difiicultof access.

This is especially the case of slings which have to be engaged by thelifting anchor of an overhead traveling crane, access to such a liftinganchor being usually obstructed by the large bulk of the booting plate.In addition, such slings are often of very substantial weight and areconsequently all the more ditficult to handle within a limited space.

The device of the invention permits of automatic hooking-on andreleasing of slings or of anyother elements to be attached to hooks, theterm slings being employed hereinafter for the sake of convenience as ageneral designation.

This invention accordingly has for its object 'a device for engagingslings over lifting hooks, characterized in that said device comprises asupport for the terminal slingshackle in the vertical position, arocking lever which is pivotally attached to said support, one end ofsaid lever being fitted with a balance weight for restoring to the restposition and the other end of said lever being adapted to cooperate withthe lifting hook, the pivotal motion of said lever under the action ofsaid hook resulting in the tilting motion of said sling-shackle and theengagement of said hook in said shackle.

According to a preferred form of embodiment, the device comprises twolevers which are mounted on the support and each of which controls thetilting motion of a sling shackle on the hook of a lifting anchor.

The positioning and disengagement of the slings are thus controlled bythe lifting hook itself which, 'as it moves produces the swinging motionboth of the levers and of the sling shackles and permits said shacklesto pass around the curved arms of the hook. No manual operation of thesling or of the lifting anchor is required, since it is merely necessaryfor the operator to be able to supervise the correct performance of theoperation.

A number of other advantages and characteristic features of theinvention will in any case be brought out by the following detaileddescription in connection with one embodiment of a device for theengagement of two slings on the lifting anchor of an overhead travelingcrane, said embodiment being given by way of non-limitative example andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows in perspective a device in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows two half-views, looking on the side, of the same device intwo successive positions of engagement of the slings over an anchor;

FIG. 3 is a partial view on a larger scale of the engaged sling-shackle;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device in the disengaged position.

In order that two slings 2 (as shown in FIG. 4) which are fitted withsling-shackles 24 may be engaged over a lifting anchor 3 such as theanchor of an overhead traveling crane, for example, the inventioncontemplates the use of a device such as that which is shown in FIG. 1,

which consists of a frame 1 formed by two parallel sidebeams 4 supportedon four feet 7 and joined to each other by two spacer members orcross-beams 6. There are fixed above each side-beam 4 two sloping ramps8 which meet at their vertex at 9 so as to form an inverted V.

A slightly elbowed lever 10 is pivotally mounted on the central portionof each cross-beam 6 by means of a pivotpin which is rotatable in a yoke12 fixed to the underside of said cross-beam 6. One of the arms 10a ofsaid lever 10 which is directed outwardly of the frame is adapted tocarry a balance-weight 14 whilst the other arm 10b is fitted inside saidframe with a stirrup 16 on which the lifting member is intended to rest.The arm 10a is also provided with a swivel-block 18 to which ispivotally attached a link-rod 20, said link-rod being curved at its freeend 20.

When the 'device is not in use, the lever 10 is in the position shown inFIG. 1, wherein the balance-weight 14 has the effect of lowering the arm10a and lifting the arm 10b, thus placing the stirrup 16 in the topposition thereof.

The shackles 24 of the slings 2 to be hooked-on are set vertically onthe ends 4a of the side-beams 4 on each side of the sloping ramps 8 andrest in stable equilibrium on the enlarged end portion 25 or slingsupport. Thereupon, the lifting anchor 3 of the overhead travelingbridge, or any hook of similar type, is brought above the frame 1 insuch manner that the axis of downward motion of the hook passes betweenthe vertices 9 of the sloping ramps 8. Progressively as this downwardmotion takes place, the bottom portion of the lifting anchor 3 comesinto contact with the stirrups 16 and bears on these latter. Under theaction of this load, the levers 10 progressively swing downwards. Thebalance-weights 14 thus swing upwardly with the swivel-blocks 18, whichcause the slingshackles 24 to swing in the direction of the slopingramps 8 (shown in FIG. 2).

Upon reaching the end of their travel, the sling-shackles are appliedagainst said sloping ramps 8 and are accordingly inclined at an angleover the hooked ends 26 of the lifting anchor 3. Said anchor is thenraised and said hooked ends pass into the sling-shackles 24 (as shown inFIG. 2) which remain on the sloping ramps 8 until the top portionsthereof are in contact with the bottom of the anchor-hooks. Saidsling-shackles are then drawn up by the lifting anchor 3 andprogressively straighten so as to follow the movement of this latter.The hooking action is then completed and the slings are displaced by thetraveling crane.

During the upward motion thereof, the lifting anchor 3 has progressivelylifted the lever 10b and enabled this latter to pivot gradually underthe action of the balance weight 14. When the anchor leaves the frame 1,the levers have returned to the position of FIG. 1 or rest position.

The operation has been extremely rapid, the range of motion both of thelifting anchor and of the sling-shackles being relatively short and thehooking-on is nevertheless highly reliable.

Disengagement or unhooking takes place in a similar manner.

The lifting anchor 3 which carries the slings 2 is lowered between thesloping ramps 8, the bases 25 of the sling-shackles 24 comeprogressively into contact with the sloping ramps 8 whilst the liftinganchor itself moves into position within the stirrups 16 and is appliedagainst the levers 10b, thus causing these latter to swing downwards andto lift the balance-Weights 14 and swivelblocks 18.

The lifting anchor 3 then places the sling-shackles 24 on the slopingramps 8 (as shown in FIG. 3), then comes to a standstill. Each link-rod20 which is attached to a swivel-block 18 is thrust either by hand or byany other suitable means against the base 25 of the correspondingsling-shackle 24, the curved end 22 being directed towards said shackle,as shown in FIG. 3.

When the lifting anchor is once again set in motion and thus caused tomove downwards to a further extent, the hooked ends 26 are consequentlydisplaced within the shackles or eyes 24 and the levers are caused toswing downwards until the moment when the swivelblock 18 comes intocontact with the base 25. The extremity 22 of the link-rod 20 passesover said base 25 and engages the top portion of this latter.

The lifting anchor 3 then begins its upward movement which changes thedirection of pivotal motion of the levers 10. The balance-weights 14return in a downward direction together with the swivel-blocks 18 andthe link-rods 20 which are secured to the bases 25 of the sling-shackles24. Said shackles are gradually restored to the vertical and disengagefrom the hooks 26 of the lifting anchor 3, as shown in FIG. 4.

When the sling-shackles have been completely set upright on their bases25 and are consequently once again in their vertical positions on theends 4a of the sidebeams 4, the lifting anchor 3 has left the stirrups16 and is in readiness for another operation.

Although slightly slower than the hooking-on process, the releasingoperation is also very rapid since the positioning of the link-rod 20can be carried out almost instantaneously. This simple operation is inany case possible even when accessibility is difficult and the slingscannot be easily handled, since it calls for no special effort ordelicate manipulation.

It will be apparent that a number of different modiflcations could bemade in the from of embodiment which has just been described withoutthereby departing either from the scope or the spirit of the invention.In particular, the lifting member could be designed for hooking onto adifferent number of slings or only a single sling, for example.

What we claim is:

1. Device for engaging slings or like members over lifting hooks, saiddevice comprising a support for the terminal sling-shackle in thevertical position, a rocking lever which is pivotally attached to saidsupport, one end of said lever being fitted with a balance-weight forrestoring to the rest position and the other end of said lever beingadapted to cooperate with the lifting hook, the pivotal motion of saidlever under the action of said lifting hook resulting in the tilting ofsaid sling-shackle and the engagement of said hook in said shackle.

2. Device in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the supportis provided with two lateral inclined slideways for guiding the liftingof the sling.

3. Device in accordance with claim 2, characterized in that theslideways are arranged in the form of an inverted V.

4. Device in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the devicecomprises two levers which are mounted on the support and which eachcontrol the tilting motion of a sling-shackle over the hook of a liftinganchor.

I 5. Device in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that a curvedlink-rod for restoring the sling-shackle to the vertical positionthereof is pivotally mounted on the lever arm which carries thebalance-weight.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 908,019 12/1-908 Lynch 214-318FOREIGN PATENTS 367,376 1/1923 Germany.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

R. B. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner.

1. DEVICE FOR ENGAGING SLINGS OR LIKE MEMBERS OVER LIFTING HOOKS, SAIDDEVICE COMPRISING A SUPPORT FOR THE TERMINAL SLING-SHACKLE IN THEVERTICAL POSITION, A ROCKING LEVER WHICH IS PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAIDSUPPORT, ONE END OF SAID LEVER BEING FITTED WITH A BALANCE-WEIGHT FORRESTORING TO THE REST POSITION AND THE OTHER END OF SAID LEVER BEINGADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH THE LIFTING HOOK, THE PIVOTAL MOTION OF SAIDLEVER UNDER THE ACTION OF SAID LIFTING HOOK RESULTING IN THE TILTING OFSAID SLING-SHACKLE AND THE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID HOOK IN SAID SHACKLE.